Month: August 2008

Meant to have this posted hours ago but had technical difficulties … I always have technical difficulties in Strawberry Canyon. Maybe it’s Dumpster Muffin sending off bad karma.

Seven quick thoughts on Cal’s 38-31 victory over Michigan State and one longer thought on the performance of backup quarterback Nate Longshore, and what it means …

1. The Bears simply had too much speed, which allowed its defensive line to generate pass pressure with a three-man rush and the linebackers to fill holes and contain MSU tailback Javon Ringer (81 yards on 27 carries).

And speed obviously was a factor in everything Jahvid Best and Shane Vereen did.

Officially, Year Seven of the Jeff Tedford era begins Saturday evening against Michigan State, which is good for the Bears. Some of their best performances have come under the lights in Memorial Stadium.

But let’s be honest: The season really starts Nov. 1 against Oregon, then continues the following week at USC — not only because of those two names, but also because November is make-or-break time, and recently, the Bears have broken.

Three days from the opener against Oregon State — a huge game for the Cardinal, I might add, in determining whether this will be a successful season (by Stanford’s modest standards) or a disappointment.

With the possible exception of ’05 (so close to a bowl bid) and ’07 (beating USC and Cal), the past six years have been a wasteland for the Cardinal program.

Stanford hasn’t played in a bowl game since 2001, its longest bowl drought in a quarter century. But I think there’s a better-than-slim-but-below-decent chance the drought will end. And for that the Cardinal can thank the Pac-10.

My guess is that there’s joy in Bearville after this evening’s announcement that sophomore Kevin Riley will start the season opener — with Bearville being occupied, in this instance, mostly by fans but possibly also by a few players.

Riley was the backup quarterback last year, and the backup quarterback is always everyone’s favorite, especially when:

* He has Riley’s mobility/swashbuckling style — he energizes not only the fans but the players — and oh-by-the-way happened to throw three touchdown passes in the bowl game;

* The incumbent, in this case Nate Longshore, is steady but plodding, struggles in the fourth quarter and was the starter for an epic late-season collapse.

Initial Hotline reaction: It’s significant largely for what it says about Tedford and not necessarily for what it means to the season.